Big Fish

WILLIAMSPORT - Shelby Krocker felt something weighty at the end of her line and reeled expectantly. Out of the water rose a sopping, slimy knot of weeds. "I caught seaweed," she said. Shelby patiently discarded the slime and cast again, optimistically awaiting her big catch. Shelby, 8, of Halfway, went fishing with her sister, Brooke Krocker, 14, and their grandmother, Penny Mongan, on Saturday at the Fishing Fun Rodeo at Cushwa Basin in Williamsport. "The girls love to fish," said Penny Mongan, of Halfway.

SMITHSBURG - The Smithsburg Leopards found out how good 6-foot, 210-pound senior tailback Josh Keeney is Saturday afternoon. Keeney rushed for five touchdowns and 293 yards on 23 carries to lead No. 2 Middletown to its fifth straight win, beating the Leopards 43-3 in a Monocacy Valley Athletic League football game. Keeney now leads the Tri-State area with 23 touchdown runs and 1,289 rushing yards. "I can't thank the line enough," Keeney said. "The line did a great job of blocking today.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Like Ahab's quest for the Great White Whale, fishermen return to the Conococheague each May in search of the Big Money Trout. Some of the 1,170 anglers who signed up this past weekend have been coming to the Chambersburg Noontime Lions Club Trout Derby for the past seven years trying to hook a fish worth up to $2,000. Ron Wyrick's search lasted about 20 minutes. The Chambersburg man landed the top-dollar trout at about 8:45 a.m. Saturday along a stretch of the creek near the Nitterhouse Soccer Complex.

As my wife and I sat in Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville in Key West, Fla., and watched the waiters deliver "cheeseburgers in paradise" to the many tables at the restaurant, I thought of another day and era. Ernest Hemingway, one of my favorite writers, lived in Key West in the late 1920s and '30s for about 10 years. During this time, he often would go fishing, drinking and carousing with his friends. He wrote some of his greatest works while living here. As you walk down Duval Street, which is estimated to have more than 300 bars, you might imagine Hemingway weaving in and out to have a drink or two and to share a few fishing tales with the locals.

By RICHARD F. BELISLE Staff Writer FAYETTEVILLE, Pa. - As swimming pools go, this one has had its share of hard luck. Built 61 years ago in the midst of the Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the big swimming pool in Caledonia State Park was replaced last year at a cost to Pennsylvania taxpayers of $1.5 million. The pool was closed for a year during the reconstruction. Park manager R. Bruce McFate said the pool was scheduled to reopen last weekend for Memorial Day, but then he noticed May 12 that the water level was dropping.

By KIMBERLY YAKOWSKI / Staff Writer Almost every angler has a tale or two about the one that got away, but 15-year-old Mike Fiorita Jr., had a tale about the fish he caught. And what a fish it was. The Falling Waters, W.Va., teenager reeled in a brook trout that tipped the scales at 6 pounds, 1.75 ounces. He caught the fish on April 10 in the Barnum area on the North Branch of the Potomac River in Garrett County in far Western Maryland. With the catch, Fiorita broke a 14-year-old Maryland state record of 4 pounds, 12 ounces.

Angling for top fishing ranks By ANDREA BROWN-HURLEY andreabh@herald-mail.com Photo: RIC DUGAN / staff photographer The scales have tipped in Aaron Hastings' favor. Now he's casting with the big fish. Hastings, of Boonsboro, reached his goal of becoming a professional bass fisherman by catching enough heavy fish to rank 24th at the end of the Bass Angler Sportsman's Society's Eastern Invitational tournaments. "I did exactly what I wanted to do," said Hastings, 29. "My whole goal was to qualify for the next level.

HUYETTS CROSSROADS - They turned out in droves armed with rods and tackle boxes. About 200 kids got hooked on fishing Saturday at the 45th Annual Charles E. Price Memorial Fishing Rodeo for Children at the Hagerstown Elks Lodge 378 picnic grounds. Located just north of Hagerstown on Md. 63, the park's meandering stream was dammed in three places after being stocked with some 500 trout, said Event Chairman George Hamilton, a member of Hagerstown Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge 378. Troupe Run and Rush Run, which dump into the Conococheague Creek, converge at the park.

When thinking about what to have for dinner, fish is a good choice. Fish is low in saturated fat and can benefit the cardiovascular system when replacing other meat that is higher in saturated fat. Also, omega-3 fatty acids in fish - considered to be a "good" fat - benefit heart health and are essential in pregnancy and infant development. The American Heart Association recommends two fish meals a week for heart disease prevention. Those already diagnosed with heart disease are advised to consume three fish meals per week.